Drinks all around with a side of tension even
by B Schilke
Summary: Figured the whole return from the Deep Roads would have been celebrated at one point, esp if the sibling wasn't dead as in this case . A glimspe of some of what happened between Act 1 and Act 2 and touch on the developing relationships. H F, mage
1. Chapter 1

Another year. Gone.

Marion was smiling at her friends. Somehow, they had even managed to drag Aveline out of her office...probably by chasing Isabela for the beating Aveline was dying to give the pirate. She nodded as the bartender looked to her and Isabela turned pleading eyes that seemed to say 'just one more round'.

Isabela walked back over to the table the way only Isabela could walk and Merrill, once again, asked for instructions on how to walk like that. Aveline quickly attempted to discourage the elf from listening to anything Isabela said. Varric had Anders cornered, careful to not let the mage escape, and prodding him for more stories of blackmarshes and lost kittens. As much as she hated to even think it, she didn't even miss Carver's presence and then guilt flooded her at the unwanted thought.

She hadn't heard from him, but they had just returned and the Wardens likely had little time to pen notes to big sister's they could only half stand. She sighed and wished she had gotten her mother to come out, but that would mean inviting Gamlen too and she didn't think she could afford to put him on her tap. Another wave of guilt at the unpleasant thought washed over her.

"Why aren't you joining in?" Fenris's voice sounded behind her, strong, sure, even in a question. She jumped at the sudden intrusion into her moment and would have fallen into the drunken "Prince of Felderan" if Fenris's hand hadn't caught her waist. Heat filled her normally pale complexion.

"Maker, Fenris, you scared me." Scaring her was the least of her problems around him. His very presence seemed to make simple thought impossible.

"Evidently." Fenris responded dryly, but his hands remained on her waist, despite the fact that she was no longer in danger of falling. She looked down and he blinked once before he released her; almost as if he hadn't noticed he was still holding her.

Silence. She hated silence. Growing up with the twins, silence had never met anything good. She remembered the one time she had a silent afternoon and then a tiny toddler scream splitting the air. Bethany had set one of the chickens on fire by accident…or caused a tiny bit of burnt feathers. She was just a toddler after all. It had taken the whole afternoon to calm her down…and then the rest of the night to calm down Carver who suddenly thought Bethany would light the whole house on fire.

"I'm sorry." Fenris blurted out, his voice so amazingly lacking its usual surety that it would have caught her attention no matter what he said. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at anywhere but her, actually. "You aided me when I need it and I failed to protect your brother when you needed it."

Carver. He was feeling guilty that he had been there when the Blight had nearly taken Carver. "You did exactly what I needed you to do, Fenris. We all took the risk when we went down there; whatever debt you owed me for getting you an empty mansion is paid…and what happened to Carver. Well, thank the Maker Anders was there." Fenris made the expected noise at her comment about Anders but she continued talking over it to stop that argument from happening…again. "Besides, maybe it's the Maker's will. Certainly Carver can't blame my shadow for anything now. He'll have the chance to make Hawke his name now too."

"A chance he always had and failed to do anything about." Fenris responded with his usual straight to the point bluntness. She smiled despite his words and he looked away. "You say my debt to you is settled."

It was meant to be a question; it just didn't sound anything like a question. She shifted nervously, wishing he would look at her, wishing she could follow his train of thought before it took her somewhere she didn't want to go. "Um…yeah…yes. I mean, yes. Wh…why?" She felt Anders eyes on her from his corner and gave him a nervous shrug at his questioning gaze.

"You no longer need me then?" He still didn't have that Fenris surety, but there was a hardness, a coldness to the question that reminded her of him. Anders gave her a reassuring smile that gave her renewed confidence until she turned and met his big green eyes. Why had she wanted him to look at her?

"I need you." The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to realize what she was saying. She didn't miss that look of shock then the Fenris she remembered was back fully, that slightly arrogant look locked on her quickly flaming face. "I mean, we need you. We're a team, right? I certainly don't imagine Varric is going to let this be the end to our story. Who's happy with a happy ending anymore? It's the six of us…"

"Seven. You forgot yourself again." Varric called from the corner and she wondered how the dwarf had even heard her ramblings in the crowded Hanged Man.

"Right. Seven. How does he do that?" She wondered out loud, this time letting her inner thought out on purpose.

"Mmm. If it isn't my favorite…", Isabela was almost purring as she pressed again Fenris's back, "glowing elf." Merrill was beside her, trying to balance the tray of drinks Isabela had dumped on her at seeing Fenris. Marion quickly took pity on her and the people around her and grabbed the tray before it spilled its contents onto everyone around them. She then turned and walked back to the table where Aveline waited, carefully keeping her eyes off the attempted seduction. Aveline gave her a pitying look and then looked past her and smirked.

She couldn't stop herself from turning at Aveline's smirk. Whatever his words were, Fenris gently pushed Isabela an arm's distance from him then stalked to the table, carefully positioning himself between Aveline and her to force Isabela to keep her distance.

She was smiling again. Isabela caught it and she knew it was only a matter of time before her friend would demand answers; that light sparked in those dark eyes and was stored away for a time when she could get her answers was a clear indication that Isabella hadn't missed her relief this time.

"Hawke? Are you okay?" Merrill's innocent concern brought her attention back to the here and now and she handed out the drinks, nodding at Varric and Anders who finally joined the table. "Your face has been red, you aren't feeling ill, are you? Fenris didn't do anything, did he? It only started when he came in." Innocent concern and just a little paranoid about how far Fenris would take his words.

Fenris glared at the accusation. Merrill looked torn between wanting to glare and not knowing if she should. Anders frowned. Isabela and Varric erupted into laughter, even Aveline was attempting hide her laughter. "Oh. There it goes again." Merrill stated and looked confused. This time Aveline didn't attempt to hide her laughter, even Fenris's lips curled slightly upward. Anders continued to frown, his eyes darting between her and Fenris. Merrill was smiling now, her concern alleviated, she was beginning to enjoy not being the one embarrassed.

"Right. How about a toast to friends?" Marion interjected awkwardly as she held up her cup.

"Especially to those with deep pockets now, my friend." Isabela's voice rang out honey smooth and she winked at her in a way that let her know just how much that door was still open, as she had suggested so long ago in the middle of the Chantry. The Chantry, for Maker's sake… Even the horrid stuff the Hanged Man called ale tasted good at that moment.

At some point, Gamlen showed up and she was forced to shut down her free night of drinks before Isabela and her uncle drank her out of her recently acquired wealth. In the end, she still managed to have to half carry her uncle home, even as he complained about the ale and demanded she take him to the Blooming Rose for "better drinks". He nearly fell on top of her as she got his arm around her shoulder. She saw Fenris stand instantly, Isabela's hand dropping off his thigh, but it was Anders who was under Gamlen's other shoulder. "Why don't I help you with this?", he suggested as Gamlen complained about apostates.

"Thanks." She answered and rolled her eyes as Gamlen continued his complaining about mages in general now. She eyed the small doorway wearily and then it was opened for her. She blinked and then saw Fenris on the opposite side, holding the door as they maneuvered their three person long train through it. How had he gotten outside already? She smiled and thanked him.

"Right. Thanks. See you tomorrow." Anders chimed in quickly.

"Going home?" Fenris had those big green eyes locked on her. She was acutely aware of Anders' eyes searching her face.

"As quickly as possible." She blurted out.

"I'll make sure no one bothers you then. You three scream 'easy target' right now." Fenris stated in the usual sure, calm, bluntness, but his eyes were on Anders, challenging.

"Oh, isn't that thoughtful?" Anders answered with false sweetness, "but I think us vipers can handle a few thugs, even with a drunk on our shoulders, thanks."

"True, I should worry about demons with you, but it isn't as if you can be possessed twice, is it?" Fenris spat back and they glared at each other.

"D…demons? Possessed?" Gamlen had entirely different concerns now and looked as if he might throw himself away from both shoulders.

"Right. Great. Thanks for all the help, you two." She muttered as Gamlen apparently decided she was safe and put his entire weight on her while eyeing Anders as if he were going to turn into a two headed monster at any moment. He instantly started reminding her why the Amell name lacked respect, which apparently had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her parents. She shook her head as she struggled to keep him moving and ignored the two quiet men behind her, even after they stopped the thugs from the easy target she and her uncle represented. She stopped in the doorway, both to make sure they were okay and to shoot them a glare for the argument she knew would start if something didn't force them apart. They shut their open mouths as they noticed her and then went their separate ways, one to Hightown and one to Darktown. She shook her head as she shut the door. Stupid men.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure you couldn't just hire someone to do this?" Isabela's eyed the disaster that greeted them upon opening the door with disgust as soon as they entered the old Amell mansion. Apparently, though Marion had led Carver here to oust the slavers Gamlen had lost the estate to years ago, no one had been in since. The place reeked.

"Sure, if I take back paying for your tab." Marion answered smoothly. Isabela groaned. Merrill looked around and shrugged. "It's not so bad. Reminds me of the Alienage." Marion grimaced…it was that bad, wasn't it?

"Mother is so excited that I was able to buy this place. It was all I could do to keep her away and I only managed to do that by convincing her to appeal to the Viscount to reinstate the Amell name on the place. I can't let her see it like this." Marion stated out loud, for herself more than her friends, and the motivation it was meant to be worked for her. She held her breath as she started to tentatively pick up and throw away anything she could bring herself to touch. Bodhadn and Sandal were in the adjoining room with Varric, who was trying to pry into their story as he sat and watched them work, doubtless.

Isabela's reluctance faded as she yanked something that shined for a moment out of Marion's hands before it disappeared into…somewhere on Isabela's person. Merrill caught onto the excitement of hunting for treasure soon enough and Marion was just happy they were finally helping, if only she could get Varric to do the same, but that was a lot like convincing Bodhadn he didn't owe her anything for stumbling across Sandal. Dwarves, she was beginning to think, could be as set as the stone their ancestors surrounded themselves in.

The next day, she had also roped Anders into helping her and was rewarded with some wet behind the ears recruits from her plea to Aveline. By the time night fell, it was just her and Varric, if you could count Varric. Isabela had rescued both herself and Merrill from the chore after Marion and Merrill started another argument over blood magic, which Isabela probably started to get out of the chore to begin with, Marion thought now. Marion had convinced Anders that his duties to Darktown were more important and pressing than what that lingering smell was from the cellar…and had shown him the hidden passage in the cellar to Darktown. The Templars were crushing a grip on the mages and making raids on Darktown; Marion was certain the passage would come in handy at some point for her friend. Varric was picking her brain on the Deep Roads Expedition when the door opened. They looked at each other for a moment, Varric's hand reaching for Bianca when that familiar voice rang out.

"Hawke?" Fenris stepped into the doorway, the light from the fire playing across his face, he glanced at Varric who was kicking his feet back up onto the only unsoiled piece of furniture in the house and then nodded when he saw her. She smiled at him, attempting to quiet the uneasiness he seemed to stir in her without trying.

"Welcome to my humble abode." She gave him a slight bow and the smile on her face lifted as his eyebrow rose.

"Looks like D…my mansion." Fenris stated as he looked at the pile of trash on the side of room.

"Exactly the problem, but now that you're here, there's no escape. I was going to wait to drag you into this tomorrow." She half apologized at the same time she pointed to the pile. "But that needs to go somewhere. Isabela suggested Darktown, but I think they have enough trash of their own. But I have to think of something. I convinced the Viscount not to grant permission to my mother, but he said one more day was all he could give me. And I had to agree to meet with some concerned citizens with Seamus to get that."

"Is it wise for you to put yourself around people of power?" Fenris moved to the pile as he asked the question. She remembered the last time he had asked if it was wise of her to be there when they had gone to the Gallows. She didn't relish a repeat of that conversation.

"Fenris, have I ever done anything you would consider wise?" She asked with just the hint of exhaustion she felt, both at the thought of where the conversation could go and from two days of tedious, filthy work.

"You have me there." Fenris acknowledged her admission easily, through for a moment, she thought she saw that small smile on his lips.

"Besides, the whole point of the Expedition was to put me in a position so I wouldn't have to fear the Templars." She added.

"So that's what your brother meant.", Varric interjected and then remained silent when she looked at him. As she continued to stare, he gave a confused look and pointed to Fenris. She glared and he laughed. "I heard your argument, or some of it, when you said it wasn't him they were after anyway and he likened himself to Gamlen. Precious moment there, true family bonding."

She tried to glare at him, both for eavesdropping and reminding her of the argument, but she couldn't. She smiled instead and got back to work. Another good thing about Varric; she didn't have to worry about silence. He alternatingly prodded them both for information, pressing Fenris until it was clear the elf had enough and then back to her. As she looked at the room, finally something resembling clean, she had to admit she had learned more about her friends in the past two days from Varric doing nothing than she had in the year she had traveled with them. She could even fill Aveline in on her two recruits' social lives, come to think of it.


	3. Chapter 3

"This was a bad idea. You shouldn't draw attention to yourself." Fenris warned her…again, a quiet whisper in her ear that sent an entirely different kind of feeling through her.

"You know, at some point, you are going to have to realize that this stuff happens to me. I made a promise to the Viscount and I don't intend on breaking it." She whispered to her back and then turned to flash him what she hoped was a charming smile. He didn't seem impressed.

"Hawke. Surely you understand what I'm trying to say." Seamus's eyes were pleading with her for help. Poor Seamus…so like his father in some ways, with just that hint of naivetés that made him think he could change the minds of anyone here. That the Arishok hadn't responded in some more immediate and threatening manner to the grumbling crowd outside his temporary home should have told these people that there was little threat…at the moment. Fenris moved towards the Quarni encampment, quietly discussing the situation with the Sten at the gate, the very reason she had all but begged him to come along.

Seamus was still looking at her, concern in his eyes now that she hadn't been paying attention and didn't know what he was talking about; which was unfortunately exactly what happened. She glanced at the gathered crowd, worried citizens who had listened to one too many Chantry zealots, most likely. "What we all must understand is that this does not make anything better. You fear their presence and yet camp on their doorstep. If you truly wish to stop the Quarni from affecting your lives, then get out there and live them. This...", she gestured to their gathering, "…you might as well pull strangers from the street and tell them about the Qun. This accomplishes nothing but to draw attention to the very thing you want removed."

"Did you just suggest they take their movement underground?" Fenris whispered in her ear…again.

"Oh… Not intentionally." She whispered back, whatever they took it as, the crowd started to disperse and Seamus let out a deep sigh.

"That isn't exactly what I was hoping for." Seamus stated as he walked next to her. She gave him an apologetic look and they fell into an old conversation, him explaining something she already knew and could relate to more than he understood.

"They are not what they think, what they make them out to be." Seamus finished resolutely as they reached the Keep, almost completely lost in his moment, as if he was simply grateful to have an audience that let him finish a sentence.

Marion glanced at Fenris, who had remained silent the entire time while he followed along. _Neither am I_, she kept the thought to herself, as usual. Even if Seamus would listen, she didn't need to give him another cause that would get him in trouble and she knew better than to think her words would have an impact on the one she wished would hear them. Seamus thanked her again for her help, she reminded him she gave him none and was grateful for the small smile that lifted his lips as he went into the Keep.

"Hawke."

Until that moment, Marion had never noticed that Aveline's voice held the same surety that she associated with Fenris, even if the similarity stopped there. The Captain of the Guard walked with purpose towards her and nodded to Fenris. "I need you to look into something."

Marion sighed. "You know, Aveline, once in a while, it would be nice if you simply wanted to say hi and discuss the weather."

"And for once it would be nice to only have that to worry about, but such is not the way with you." Aveline retorted easily and Marion shrugged. The story spilled out soon enough. "As if it isn't bad enough you stir up trouble everywhere you go, now it seems you are passing on that trait."

"Made you Captain, if I remember correctly, and I warned you then not to stir up trouble." Marion interjected quickly before Aveline could continue her rant.

"The Templars are planning on raiding the Alienage. Apparently someone has been telling stories of free mages and the safe uses of blood magic. You don't need me to tell you who that could lead them to." Aveline paused anyway. Fenris huffed, his version of 'I-told-you-so' without actually saying it she was learning and Marion shook her head. As if that wasn't enough, Aveline continued. "And Anders is harboring a criminal. I need you to convince him to release the boy."

"The boy?" Marion asked. Anders was a lot of things, but he had always stayed true to breaking only Templar rules before this.

"Yes. You remember your smuggler friend?" Aveline started.

"She wasn't my friend." Marion interrupted with determination. If there was one year of her life, one life she had taken and never regretted… She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice Fenris's look of shock at her rare show of malice.

"Well, someone took her place and shares her business sense, namely the use of children for dirty work. The boy is the only key we have to link them to this plot, but Anders won't turn him over. If he doesn't, I will have to take him by force…which might bring the Templars down there too once they get wind of it." Aveline dropped the threat so matter-of-factly Marion wondered if she even realized it was a threat.

Marion looked at the sun. "How long have I got?"

"Not long enough." Aveline answered. "I've been looking for you all day."

"I was at the Docks with Seamus, I thought the Viscount told you."

"No. I had to hear about that as a rumor as well." There was no mistaking the annoyance in Aveline's tone.

"No doubt the Viscount wanted to keep the appearance of an unplanned accident by his son's wandering where he does not belong than send the city guard and give the appearance of supporting the Quarni." Fenris chimed in with his own flat matter-of-fact explanation.

"Be that as it may." Aveline accepted the reasoning with her usual displeasure at political maneuvering. "I have already put off getting the boy for far too long and the Templars will be there any moment."

"Aveline… how? You can't expect me to be at two places at once!" Marion stared wide eyed at the Captain.

Aveline eyed her…and relented, to her way of thinking anyway. "Fine. I will take as much time as possible preparing the guards and briefing them, but you had better get that girl and get to Anders quickly, Hawke. I've already… If it were anyone else…"

"I know. I know. I'm on it. Going right now." Marion turned and started jogging. She stopped as soon as she remembered her earlier thought, the passage in her cellar…getting to Anders would be much simpler and quicker that way. Getting Merrill out of harm's way less so…and certainly less sure; there was no telling how cooperative Merrill would be or how long determined Templars would be. Like it or not, she was going to have to choose, she couldn't be in two places at once. She glanced at Fenris, who looked annoyed as she stood still, silent, and utterly lost in thought. She grimaced at the argument she was already having with him in her mind. His look of displeasure deepened.

"Out with it, Hawke." His demand broke through her mental practice of this conversation. She sighed and smiled at him. His look of displeasure turned into wariness.

"I need a big favor. Huge. I'll owe you." Marion offered the reward first and wished she knew something, anything that he really wanted. She clasped her hands in front of her and set her most pleading look on him.

"What is this big favor?" His voice echoed the dread that was slowly spreading across his face. Grim acceptance.

"Your choice." She answered with a smile and he arched a brow at her faked excitement. She had been spending far too much time with Varric, she realized as she continued. "Either go and get Merrill to Ander's Clinic or go to Ander's Clinic and watch out, stall just a little tad bit if I'm not there when Aveline shows up."

"You're asking me to help a mage." Fenris spat out, through there was no sign of shock or surprise that he was being asked to do this.

"Fenris, you just spent all day helping a mage." Marion retorted, losing the pleading overtures completely as her hands went on her hips and she shook her head at him.

"You are correct. Perhaps I should be clearer. You are asking me to either rescue a blood mage from Templars or an abomination from the city guards." His dry tone was back, full of surety.

She hated when he did that. She hated it even more that he was right, as a broken down version of what was happening. She sighed, defeated and her mind began racing, plan after plan forming and being rejected. Aveline had given her time, so Merrill had to be her first stop.

"I'll babysit the healer. At least we can hate each other in silence." Fenris sounded like he was choking on the words and he immediately began to stalk his long trek to Darktown.

She grabbed his arm before he finished stalking past her. He spun on her and for a moment, the lyrium gave off that bluish glow. She held out her hands, palms up, in front of her. That only times she had seen that glow had never resulted in something good for the one on the opposite side. She dangled the key from its short chain in her palm. "I have a shortcut. There is a passage way that leads from the cellar of mother's mansion to just outside Ander's Clinic. Here." She held out the key.

"Does Anders know of this?" Fenris asked, his voice telling her he already knew the answer and didn't like it. She settled with nodding her answer and watched as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "One of these days, Hawke, you will learn that he is not as harmless as you think."

"A point you can spend all of tomorrow letting me know if that's how you want to use your favor." She was beaming a smile at him and his look of tortured indignation softened for a moment before he shook himself and headed to the mansion.

Later that night, as she related the story to Isabela and Varric, she was forced to admit the rather flat ending. Fenris had been free to leave almost as soon as he got there. Anders had refused to turn over the boy that morning because the boy had been poisoned and it had taken a good deal of healing to rid the toxin and restore the boy to health, but now not in danger of succumbing to the poison, he didn't resist turning the boy over to Aveline, even at Fenris's demand. Merrill hadn't even been home when Marion arrived for her rescue. Varric, having also gotten wind of the Templar's impending descent on the Alienage long before Marion herself, had already yanked 'Daisy' from harm's way. She shrugged as she admitted it was all for nothing and laughed when Varric instructed her to leave the story telling to him.


	4. Chapter 4

"No, it is not." Marion stated, her exasperation having reached it's end. She imagined her eyes were the mirror image of Merrill's own, set, determined, and angry.

"You can't force me to agree with you, Hawke. If this is all you came for, then just leave." Merrill shot back at her, seemingly forgetting that they were, in fact, in Varric's room having this argument again and in not her house this time. A fact Marion would have quite happily reminded her of if the owner hadn't come into his rooms then, hands out and palms up.

"Ladies. I just thought you might like to consider that this argument over demons and blood magic can be heard in the other room. You know the one filled with normal citizens, off duty guards and even the occasional Templar." He smiled his charming smile and glanced from one of them to the other. "You might want to call it a night."

"That's the first thing I've heard all night that I will be happy to listen to." Merrill shot her another glare and stormed out of the room. Marion heard Isabela's voice calling for 'kitten' almost instantly. She groaned and dropped her head in her hands.

"Why do I do this? Why do I constantly think that she's going to finally listen to me? She didn't even listen to her Keeper, the woman practically raised her, why do I think she will listen to me? Why did they think she would listen to me? What did they think? 'Oh, she's so far gone, only a shelam would understand her now?'" She was pacing now, her emotions tumbling out of her mouth. Varric calmly took his usual seat and listened, as usual. "'Oh, Hawke. You have a good heart. I have faith that you will reach her, if anyone will.' She might as well just have admitted she was passing off a lost cause!"

Varric burst into laughter as she finally looked at him and then repeated her attempt to mimic the Keeper's voice. She stamped her foot in irritation and he laughed harder. She attempted to glare, but his mood was catching and she felt her lips curve into a smile. "It's not funny." She pouted and he calmed himself down.

"Oh, that was funny, Hawke. You really are the worst storyteller I've ever met. It's certainly a good thing you have me around." He smiled at her, poured a drink from the pitcher she hadn't noticed he had with him and put the tankard on the table, at her usual seat. She obediently walked to and dropped herself into her seat, next to him. "As for your problems with Daisy. Well, seems the simplest solution would be to just stop talking about it. You can't save everyone from themselves."

"It would be nice if I could save just one person." She moped and took a deep drink of her cup. "Between the six of you…" He gapped at her in false indignation and she giggled. "You are the only one that's perfect and I can't even claim a hand in that. You came to me that way."

He tipped his chin a little higher and nodded. "So kind of you to notice."

"The Paragon of Manliness." Isabela added and Marion looked to see her dragging Merrill back into the room. Varric puffed out his chest. Isabela winked at him and gave a showy sign of shivering as she eyed his chest. Marion laughed and shook her head at both of them. Merrill let herself be forced into the seat next to Isabela. Thanks to Varric and Isabela, the conversation flowed around them, turning the near screaming match into civil tones, but eventually the inevidentable lull happened and silence fell in the room.

"I'm sorry, Merrill." Marion stated into the silence. Merrill jerked her head at the statement, but waited, as if she was trying to determine if that was sarcasm or not. "You have the right to make your own choices and noble goals and it's quite possible that I don't know what I'm talking about. You are my friend and I worry, but doesn't give me the right to lecture you_." Even if you are going out of your way to prove all those damm Templars right about leaving a mage to their own devices_, her mind continued. She bit down on her tongue and gave a small smile. "I'll try to keep my nose and opinions out of it from now on, okay?"

Merrill offered a half smile and nodded. Ar smile that didn't reach her eyes, but then Marion could have claimed the same for her own smile.

"Please tell me that I'm not the only one who finds it amusing that Lady Hawke, who made her fortune by sticking her nose in other people's business has now promised to keep it out of someone's business?" Isabela was snickering as she spoke.

"Well, she didn't actually promise." Merrill amended and then looked stunned when both Isabela and Varric burst into laughter.

"I hate you both." Marion glared at them, another facial expression that didn't reach her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

_A big huge apology for the long delay. I was working on original fiction stuff and couldn't get these two (Marion and Fenris, that is) to work. They seem to want to skip right to the end. And thanks for adding to favorites and the reviews, you make my day every single time I get those notices. ;)_

Marion eyed the trouble that greeted her before she even had a chance to get all the way down the steps with a small smile. At times, she forgot Aveline wasn't officially part of her family and the way the woman stalked to the bottom of the steps and glared up at her… Well, make Aveline a boy with dark hair and light eyes and she could just be Carver.

"What is it now, Aveline?" Marion had a problem keeping the smile off her face despite the answering annoyance on the guard captain's face.

"You have to do something about that elf, Hawke", Aveline demanded with more than a hint of just annoyance on her face.

Marion waited, but when the obvious ranting didn't explode with that demand, she was forced to prompt, "Which elf?"

"The one you allowed to hole up in a mansion around the corner. The one who glares at his neighbors and is heard shouting almost every night, that elf!" Aveline shouted, glaring at her now as if she should know what she's talking about. The anger was gone instantly and all hint of even the earlier annoyance faded as she shook her head, "Hawke. I'm sorry. I didn't mean… Becoming Captain has put me in an…"

Marion put her hand on the hand Aveline was using to rub her own temples, "I know. I'll talk to him and…"

"That won't do, Hawke. You don't understand. As the new Captain, the nobles are using any means to figure out what I will and won't give on. If I can't handle something as simple as moving a squatter…", Aveline shook her head again and paced to the fireplace and then back to the front of the steps, "I'm not saying to kick him out, but maybe if he could not be there for a little while, at least until the nobles realize that I am not Jevelin. What that man had his hands in…"

"Oh, we have certainly have extra room, don't we, Marion? It shouldn't be a problem at all", Marion heard her mother add just before the door closed and her mother's footsteps sounded behind her.

The welcoming offer was enough to make even Aveline glance away from both Hawkes, but not enough to stop her from accepting it, "It will not be permanent, I promise, Hawke. Just until I can get everything under control."

Marion swallowed her concern that immediately came up with the thought of waiting to get these nobles under control. Actually anything that resided in Kirkwall seemed to resist being controlled at all. She plastered a fake smile on her face and then nodded as Aveline glanced at her. Aveline was out the door in a flash, just in time for her mother to ask who their first house guest was going to be.

Almost a whole day later, Marion closed the door on her long and painful day. If it wasn't politics over quarni, it was bandits on the coast. She flopped back against the closed door and let out her frustration with a muted scream. All she had wanted was to get her mother back her house and have enough money to keep the Templars away; not become everyone's problem solver. At least here, at home, she…

Those wide green eyes swallowed her whole, despite the fact that he was in the other room. She had forgotten all about Fenris moving into today, forgotten…

"This is not the way we treat our guest, I assure you. I did raise her better than this, I certainly raised her to keep her promises", her mother had that disapproving look on her face as she fidgeted with her fingers and glanced again at Fenris. Marion could only imagine the many attempts at a conversation her mother had attempted over the dinner she had promised to be there for. She hoped Fenris didn't mention just exactly what they really do most of the time, she was careful not to let her mother know she was still clearing out bandits.

"You're hurt", Fenris stated and through his voice was almost calm, Marion could see the anger starting to rise in his eyes. Her mother let out a gasp of shock and then rushed around Fenris.

She pushed herself off the door and glanced at her shoulder. Her robe had taken most of the damage, but the knife had managed to draw blood that was still trickling down her arm. Her mother gasped again when she saw the cut and then glanced back at Fenris and said nothing else. So apparently Fenris had shared more with her mother than she'd hoped; another conversation she couldn't wait to hear. One she was apparently going to have right now, she realized as her mother ushered her up to her mother's room to treat her wound.

After assuring her mother that she tried to stay as much of fights now as she possibly could and that having her reputation and her friends made that a little harder than it should be, Marion was finally dressed in normal clothes and released from her mother's room. Fenris was still standing by the fire, as if he hadn't moved one inch since they left him there. Marion smiled nervously, "Mother said to bid you good night and that I should apologize for not being a proper hostess."

"Your mother tries too hard, a trait I'm beginning to realize you might share", his voice rings out with that same surety it always has, as if he's merely stating an obvious fact that the whole world knows already.

Marion sighs, missing her alone time almost even more now that the one person who monopolizes her thoughts during that alone time is standing in front of her, "Did you want to sleep? I'm sure Mother showed you your room."

She watched those green eyes shift to the side to glance at her and then shift back to the fireplace. He merely shakes his head slightly, a barely perceptible sign followed by a statement so low, it's almost too quiet to hear, "I'm not tired."

She isn't either; she never is, a trait her mother let her know she had her whole life and came straight from her father. A smile lifts her mouth as she remembered the times her father let her stay up playing made up games. Tricks of the magical trade, it turned out to be, but at the time…

"What are you thinking about?" Fenris's voice breaks through her memories and she smiles up at him, finding him facing her now with a curious look in his eyes, somewhere between curiosity and jealously.

The thought makes her snicker quietly. Jealously? What in all of Kirkwall would make her think Fenris even thought about her that way? One white eyebrow arched as she snickered at him and she snickered again, "Sorry sorry. I was just thinking about my father. He used to have problems sleeping as well and we would stay up so late playing silly stupid games…" She fully expected him to give her that look of sympathy and ask her if she missed her father or get uncomfortable and change the subject altogether or even not realize she was speaking of the dead, she was not at all prepared for the question that did come out of his mouth.

"What games?" His look was impossible to discern. In fact, she didn't think anyone had ever looked at her like that before, except…there was a Templar.

She felt the slight rise of anger, what did he think she was laughing about her father teaching her how to use blood magic to make rats dance? She turned and walked into the other room, suddenly wanting the comfort of that large couch she had brought the other day. Something that had a back and anything resembling a pillow was better than the benches her mother loved. "Nothing evil. Just come here and I'll show you."

She waited for him to argue as she walked, but he was right on her heels as she turned back around. She stumbled in surprise and he steadied her instantly, as if he was so used to her stumbling that not having to catch her would have been far more surprising. For a moment, it felt no more real than how she normally spent at least a part of her alone time; daydreaming about what might happen. His hands were resting on her hips and he was so very close, she could feel the heat coming off of him, see where the white veins disappeared and the many branches, her hands were on his arms and his skin felt smooth, a slight rise where the white lines rose above his skin…and his voice, that voice that seemed to travel through every inch of her…

"Hawke?"

Wait, he was really here. This wasn't just another time when she imagined he was here and she got to do what she really wanted to do since she met him. She shook her head as he looked at her with concern and backed away from him, feeling instantly colder than she had all night, "Sorry, I'm not used to company at this time. My thoughts just keep running away with me."

"Are you certain you aren't ready for bed?" There was that concern again in his voice, so different from how he looked at her when he realized she was a mage.

_Only if you're with me_, luckily the thought stayed in her head this time since that was another problem she usually had around Fenris. She shook her head at herself more than to answer him, but it worked. He shrugged and she silently vowed to spend less time with Isabela, it was beginning to rub off on her apparently. She motioned for him to sit across from her and began to teach him the first and most innocent game she could think of, or as close to it as she dared to go. When her father taught her, they had to keep the glass of water moving and just as full as it started without touching it; a lesson in control that had a little girl normally drenched and laughing her head off, trying to splash the water on her father instead.

But she doubted Fenris would like the idea of her using magic in any kind of game with him, so she settled with putting in rules about not being able to touch it until the other person let go as much for the sake of her sanity as to make the game interesting. Fenris was doused on the second circle as she pushed it towards him a little too hard. She laughed and apologized in the same breath. It didn't work as well since he was doused again immediately. His eyes narrowed as he stripped off the armor to keep it from getting ruined and focused on that glass.

She was doused this time, undone both by his concentration and her lack of it as he removed his armor and sat across from her. Even as she patted her wet lap dry, she had to give her imagination credit, he looked exactly as she had pictured, except that he still had a sleeveless shirt on. Hours later, they were both dripping wet as her mother glared at them and took them to quiet down.

She covered her mouth as she giggled and watched as her mother stalked away from him, muttering under her breath. She turned back to see that smile that had been on his face for several hours now slowly fade and wanted to curse. He had been having fun, he had been laughing and smiling and now…

"Your mother is right. You have plenty to do tomorrow. It is late", he stated the obvious again as he stood up and held out a hand to her.

Her smile remained stretched from ear to ear, no matter if he wasn't smiling and laughing now, he had been and that meant there was hope, no matter how dim and delusional. She put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet and nodded. She was at the door when she called his name and waited for him to turn and face her before she corrected his statement, "We. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

He didn't hide his look of shock long enough and she couldn't blame him; of course he had no idea that she didn't bring him because she found herself concentrating on him far more than the one trying to kill her. She winked at him, "We just spent quality time learning how to work with each other. Of course we have to test it, right?"

He laughed and the sudden nerves that started to make her remember this wasn't a dream vanished, "Rest well, Hawke…and maybe we can practice working together again tomorrow night?"

"Definitely", She smiled at him and whistled her way up to her own room. Was it just this morning that this didn't seem like a good idea?


End file.
